Chapter 6: The Art of the Potato Chip
The False Messiah was no longer a discussion board. It was a war zone.
Views: 5,892,111
Likes: 450,000
User: L_is_Justice: "Kira is a coward. He killed a man just for calling him evil. That proves L's point."
User: GodOfTheNewWorld: "No, L is the coward. He sacrificed a death row inmate like a pawn. Kira is cleaning up the garbage that the law is too scared to touch."
User: SnackDaddy: "Okay, but can we talk about the voice modulation on L? It sounds like a broken synthesizer from 1999 and I am terrified of it."
Kenji Sato scrolled through the feed on his tablet, a satisfied smirk plastered on his face.
The "Points" counter in his peripheral vision was ticking up like a slot machine that had jammed on the jackpot.
Current Points: 280,000
(Approx. Value: $2.8 Million)
"We have enough," Kenji announced, tossing the tablet onto the sofa in the studio lounge.
Mike, who was eating a cup of instant noodles with a plastic fork, looked up. "Enough to pay the debt?"
"Enough to pay half," Kenji corrected. "But more importantly, enough to fund the Surveillance Arc."
He stood up and walked to the whiteboard, uncapping a marker. He drew a stick figure (Light) and a giant eye (L).
"In the next episode," Kenji explained, "L suspects Light. He doesn't have proof, but he has intuition.
So, what does a genius detective do? He violates every civil liberty in the book."
Kenji drew sixty-four small squares around the stick figure's room.
"He installs sixty-four cameras and wiretaps in Light's bedroom. Every angle is covered. If Light sneezes, L knows. If Light talks in his sleep, L hears it."
Mike choked on a noodle. "Sixty-four? Kenji, we have one camera. And it's a rental."
"We don't need sixty-four real cameras. We need to imply sixty-four cameras," Kenji said. "But the real challenge isn't the cameras. It's the action."
He wrote three words on the board in capital letters:
POTATO. CHIP. SCENE.
Mike stared at the board. "Potato... chip?"
"Yes," Kenji said, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"Light has to kill criminals to prove his innocence. If he stops killing while under surveillance, L will know it's him.
So, he has to write names in the Death Note while L is watching him study."
"How?" Mike asked. "The cameras see everything.
"He hides a miniature LCD TV inside a bag of potato chips," Kenji said, mimicking the motion.
"He watches the news on the tiny screen inside the bag. He writes the names on a scrap of the Death Note hidden inside the bag. And he eats the chips to hide the evidence."
The room went silent.
Mike blinked slowly. "Boss. That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard."
"It is," Kenji agreed cheerfully. "On paper, it is a farce. It is a comedy sketch. A man eating junk food to save his life? It's ridiculous."
Kenji leaned in, his eyes burning with that manic director's fire.
"But we are going to film it like an action movie. I want dramatic music. I want sweeping camera angles. I want slow-motion salt crystals. I want the audience to be on the edge of their seats wondering if he's going to eat the Consommé or the Seaweed flavor."
System Shop - Props Department
Kenji retreated to his office to handle the logistics.
The "Potato Chip" trick was impossible with current technology. A mini-TV inside a bag? It would be bulky, the light would bleed out, and the bag would crinkle too much.
But Kenji had the Shop.
[Search: Surveillance Evasion Tools]
Item: Spy-Grade Micro-Screen (Adhesive) - 5,000 Points.
Item: Sound-Dampening Snack Bag - 500 Points.
Item: Pencil Lead (High-Contrast for Camera) - 50 Points.
Kenji bought them all. He also purchased a new soundtrack pack: [Pack: Choral Epics & Orchestral Swells].
Soundstage B - Light's Bedroom
Julian Thorne sat at his desk. He looked tired. Not because the actor was tired, but because the character was.
"Okay, Julian," Kenji said, holding the bag of chips. It was a generic brand Kenji had printed a label for: Spacey Chips. "This is the most physically demanding scene you will do this season."
Julian looked at the bag. "It's... a snack, Director. I just eat it?"
"No," Kenji said sternly. "You are performing a magic trick. Your right hand is writing names of people who are dying in real-time. Your left hand is taking chips. Your face must show the boredom of a student studying for entrance exams, but your eyes... your eyes must be screaming."
Kenji handed him the bag. "Look inside."
Julian peered into the foil bag. His eyes widened.
Stuck to the back of the bag was a wafer-thin screen, displaying a pre-recorded news loop of criminals. Below it was a small strip of the black notebook paper.
"This tech..." Julian whispered. "Where do you even get this? This screen is thinner than paper."
"Trade secret," Kenji said. "Now, the line. The line is crucial. You are mocking L. You are winning right under his nose."
Julian nodded. He took a deep breath, getting into the mindset of the God of the New World.
"Mike, get the macro lens," Kenji ordered. "I want to be inside the bag. I want the audience to feel like they are the potato chip being devoured."
"Rolling," Mike said, looking dubious but focused.
"Action!"
The scene started with silence. Just the scratching of a pen.
Julian's internal monologue (which would be dubbed later) was frantic, calculating. On screen, he looked calm. He reached for the bag.
Crackle.
He pulled out a chip. He didn't just eat it; he snapped it.
Crunch.
Kenji watched the monitor. It was mesmerizing. Julian had found a rhythm. Write. Eat. Write. Eat.
His eyes darted from his textbook to the hidden screen inside the bag.
Then, the climax.
The music swelled in Kenji's head (and soon, on the timeline). The choir kicked in. Kyrie Eleison!
Julian grabbed a chip. He held it up to the light. He looked at the hidden camera in the corner of the room, challenging it.
"I'll take a potato chip..." Julian said, his voice trembling with suppressed adrenaline.
He whipped his hand around, a motion so violent it blurred on the camera.
"...and EAT IT!"
CRUNCH.
He bit down with the force of a shark taking a seal. Debris flew.
"Cut!" Kenji yelled.
Julian swallowed, coughing slightly on a crumb. "Was that... too much? I felt like I was attacking the food."
"It was perfect," Kenji said, wiping a tear from his eye. "It was the most aggressive snacking in cinema history."
The Edit - 48 Hours Later
Kenji sat with Elias in the editing room. He had brought the "L" actor in to record voiceovers for the detective's reaction.
Elias watched the footage of Julian eating the chip.
He watched the slow-motion replay of the salt flying. He watched the dramatic lighting shifts.
Elias popped a sugar cube into his mouth.
"He looks psychotic," Elias deadpanned.
"He looks brilliant," Kenji corrected.
"He's eating a carbohydrate, Kenji. Why is the music sounding like the apocalypse?"
"Because to him, it is. If he drops a crumb, he gets the death penalty."
Elias shrugged. "Humans are weird. But... I like it. It makes me want chips."
Kenji finished the final render.
Episode 3: The Glare of the Gods.
Runtime: 45 Minutes.
He uploaded it.
The reaction was immediate. And it was exactly what Kenji had predicted.
[Notification: User 'MemeLord69' created a GIF]
Caption: ME WHEN MOM BRINGS THE GROCERIES.
(GIF of Light Yagami aggressively eating the chip)
[Notification: User 'CinemaSin' commented]
"I can't believe I just held my breath for five minutes watching a guy do his homework and eat a snack. This show is witchcraft. 10/10."
[Notification: System Alert]
[Viral Achievement Unlocked: "The Meme Factor"]
[Reward: 50,000 Points]
Kenji leaned back. The meme was spreading. People were re-enacting the scene on TikTok (or this world's version, VidBit). Sales of potato chips in Zenith City reportedly spiked by 200% overnight.
But amidst the celebration, the phone on Kenji's desk rang.
It wasn't Mike. It wasn't the bank.
Kenji looked at the caller ID. It was a number he didn't recognize, but the area code was from the Capital.
He picked it up.
"Kenji Sato speaking."
"Mr. Sato," a smooth, corporate voice answered.
"This is Marcus Kane, Vice President of Acquisition at Titan Pictures."
Titan Pictures.
The biggest studio in the world. The studio that churned out the superhero blockbusters that dominated the box office.
"I'm listening," Kenji said, his eyes narrowing.
"We've seen your web series. Death Note," Kane said.
"It's... unique. The visual effects are impressive. We'd like to buy the rights."
"It's not for sale," Kenji said instantly.
"Everything is for sale, Mr. Sato. Especially when one is five million dollars in debt. We know about your situation. We're offering to pay off the debt. In full. Plus a consultancy fee for you."
"And the creative control?" Kenji asked.
"Well," Kane chuckled. "We'd obviously need to make some changes. The protagonist being a villain doesn't test well with families. We were thinking of making Light an undercover FBI agent pretending to be Kira. And maybe casting a pop star for L. To broaden the appeal."
Kenji gripped the phone. He felt the bile rise in his throat. An undercover FBI agent? A pop star L?
It was exactly what had ruined adaptations in his old world.
"Mr. Kane," Kenji said, his voice cold.
"Yes?"
"I'll take a potato chip," Kenji said. "And eat it."
"Excuse me?"
"I said no. Don't call this number again."
Kenji hung up.
He looked at the foreclosure notice. He looked at the screen where Light Yagami was laughing maniacally.
"They want war?" Kenji muttered. "Fine. I'll give them a war."
He turned to the System.
[Mission Update: The Rival Studio]
[Objective: Defeat Titan Pictures at the Box Office within 1 Year.]
[Reward: Studio Upgrade (Rank B).]
"Mike!" Kenji shouted down the hall. "Get the car! We need to find a girl with pigtails and a death wish!"
It was time for Misa Amane.
(To be Continued)